Cancer patient died after operation on tumour

A CANCER sufferer died from complications following an operation to remove a tumour, an inquest was told. Father-of-one James Anthony Larkin, aged 45, from Daniel Fold, Brotherod, was admitted to Rochdale Infirmary last year to have an advanced tumour removed from the junction between his stomach and oesophagus.

A CANCER sufferer died from complications following an operation to remove a tumour, an inquest was told.

Father-of-one James Anthony Larkin, aged 45, from Daniel Fold, Brotherod, was admitted to Rochdale Infirmary last year to have an advanced tumour removed from the junction between his stomach and oesophagus.

He had been complaining of severe stomach pains for several months prior to the operation and had visited A&E on a number of occasions, but had been sent away with anti-biotics in July.

Doctors didn't diagnose the cancerous tumour until October as it was blocking part of Mr Larkin's oesophagus, preventing them from investigating with an endoscopic camera.

The tumour had also grown underneath the stomach tissue, which made it even more difficult for doctor's to take samples for diagnosis.

By the time the tumour had been confirmed as cancerous it had grown to a length of eight cm.

As a result Mr Larkin had stopped eating and lost weight.

Surgeon Mr Pulobody Senapati said: "To make a cancer diagnosis and further treatment we need samples.

"Anybody with constant pain you have a worry that it is quite far gone, but without a tissue diagnosis you don't know."

Once the tumour was confirmed Mr Senapati decided to operate on 19 October to remove the tumour.

The procedure involved removing Mr Larkin's stomach and joining his oesophagus to part of his small intestine.

Following the operation the surgeon performed two checks to ensure the procedure was successful.

But four days later Mr Larkin's health began to deteriorate rapidly, with doctors believing that it was due to problems in his lungs and respiratory system.

He died on 16 November last year.

A post mortem examination found that his death had been caused by a breakdown of the tissue where the surgery had joined the oesophagus to part of the small intestine, which had caused fluid to leak into his lungs.

Pathologist, Brian Benatar, said: "The tissue had been pliable and broken down that resulted in a leak, which is extremely dangerous - material outside the bowel leaks into the body cavity.

"From that sort of time span it is very obvious this leak wasn't there initially."

The inquest heard that as breakdown occurred more than three days after the surgery it was not an error within the operation, but a breakdown in tissue by the body itself.

Mr Senapati, added: "If there was complication or a leak it would happen in the first 24 hours. We didn't have any indication that there was a leak."

Coroner Simon Nelson recorded in a narrative verdict that Mr Larkin had died as a result of complications following the operation.

He said: "For someone so young it is unusual for me to be dealing with a case of this nature.

"I felt it was clear in the manner, which the family statement has been written the family still have some questions to ask."